My foodie friend, Christine, just gave me her recent copy of Gastronomica, a hardcore food journal that contains an incredible variety and volume of essays and gastronome-related info. I’d not heard of it before but am happily ensconced in it now and will be happy to help her recycle them anytime.

Anyway, I’m reading a piece about food bloggers in Istanbul and was struck by a Turkish (the town of Mardin specifically) delicacy called dolma mumbar, an intestine stuffed with a blend of seasoned rice and meat. This is so similar to a south Louisiana dish I grew up eating called boudin which is a spicy meat and rice blend stuffed in a pig intestine and served warm. Being a relatively nerdy foodie, I always refused to touch the intestine with my mouth (most folks just suck the boudin right out of it) but rather mushed it out with a fork.

I think it’s really cool to find similar dishes in places that can seem so very different. Wonder what, if any, the culinary and historical connections are…

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